After graduating from Soore University with a Bachelor of Film and Television in Directing, Shahram Mokri set out to find his own voice as a director, but also to further explore the language of various media, in this case movies and theater, and utilize his findings in his various projects. After several short features which can be understood as means to reach aforementioned aims, he directed his first feature “Ashkan, The Charmed Ring And Other Stories”, which started Mokri's international career and received nominations for the Golden Alhambra at Granada Film Festival Cines del Sur and for the Jury Award at Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2010. Similar to his previous works, “Ashkan” may be seen as an experiment in cinematic storytelling, blending various perspectives and also references to cinema, but also a mirror to a state of confusion which may today be more relevant than ever.
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Even though he is not introduced until the second half of the story, Ashkan (Sina Razani), a hotel employee, is desperate as he has been trying to kill himself quite a few times in the last month, always with no success, adding to his depression. After his therapist refuses to see him anymore, realizing he is of no help to the young man, Ashkan decides to give suicide one last go, trying to follow his ancestors who have all killed themselves when they were around his age. However, as he is about to hang himself inside one of the hotel rooms, two blind men, Sharooz (Hutan Mokri) and Reza (Saaed Ebrahimifar), enter. While he silently observes what is happening around him, without attracting their attention, he also overhears the two men talking about a robbery, which they were hired to perform later on.
Suddenly, Ashkan sees an opportunity, introduces himself to Reza and Sharooz and asks if he could be of service, planning to get himself shot by the police or by some security guard. However, matters are far more complicated than they seem, when the young man becomes involved in a story surrounding the blind robbers, two ambitious policemen, two hitmen and a young couple wanting to elope together and escape the clutches of the boy's father who would rather see his offspring dead than to marry someone he regards as unfit.
Although the short summary make it sound otherwise, “Ashkan, The Charmed Ring And Other Stories” is told from multiple perspectives, often switching from one character to the other, from one setting to the next. Similar to the director's later works, most importantly his latest feature “Careless Crime”, the various connections and indeed the story as a whole is revealed little by little. Apart from referencing other works of cinema, most notably perhaps film noir and the kind of deadpan comedies by directors such as Jim Jarmusch, there is also a more direct layer to this approach, as it mirrors a level of confusion, resulting from not understanding the full extent of how one life, one deed and one decisions is linked to others.
Given the shifting focus within the story, as explained before, as a whole, this approach certainly has its charms, especially in an ensemble effort such as this. Again similar to Mokri's other works, the weight of the feature never lies on just one pair of shoulders, but is carried by many, making each role equally important in the greater concept. At the same time, it leads to various segments, each one defined by the aforementioned brand of black, deadpan humor, or instead links to family drama or even the gangster movie. Within this ensemble, perhaps the most memorable scenes are the ones between the two hitmen, played by Ali Sarabi and Siamak Safari, as their dialogue and delivery is easily among the most entertaining and funniest within the feature, whereas Sina Razani gives a great performance as a man defined by depression and the existential struggle of not fully understanding his purpose in the greater scheme of things.
Lastly, “Ashkan” also works quite well due to Mokri's script, combining the various stands of the story without coming off as needlessly complicated, but also Arash Rasafi's editing highlighting the various shifts and links within the story itself.
In conclusion, “Ashkan, The Charmed Ring And Other Stories” is quite an impressive first feature by Shahram Mokri. Given its ensemble and overall approach in terms of storytelling, it is often entertaining, funny, and at times quite dramatic and tragic, stressing its director's versatility when it comes to style and content.
